COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Radio and television stations in Columbus, Dayton and Kent were named the best in the state Saturday in the annual Ohio Associated Press Media Editors broadcast competition.
General Excellence awards for 2017 went to WBNS-TV in Columbus, WHIO-TV in Dayton and WKSU-FM in Kent.
The Lancaster Eagle Gazette won the First Amendment Award for outstanding accomplishment in pursuing freedom of information. The newspaper won with its entry, “The Fall of Brian Kuhn.” That award was open to entries from both newspapers and broadcast stations.
Also Saturday, four journalists were inducted into the Ohio APME Hall of Fame for exceptional distinction and honor in the field of journalism: Ken Barhorst of The Sidney Daily News, Holly Geaman Koza of WLIO-TV, Thomas J. Mullen of The Lima News and Pershing Rohrer of the Kent-Ravenna Record-Courier.
Paolo Suro, a reporter at WCPO-TV in Cincinnati was named Ohio APME’s Broadcast Rising Star. That award recognizes journalists with five years or less in journalism.
Twenty broadcasters submitted 262 entries in the contest, which featured news, sports and weather reporting as well as features, documentaries and photography from 2017.
Entries were judged by broadcasters from WSGW-AM, Saginaw, Michigan and WGHN-FM, Grand Haven, Michigan, Radio; WLUC-TV, Negaunee, Michigan and WJFW-TV, Rhinelander, Wisconsin, Television II; and KDKA-TV, Pittsburgh and KFMB-TV, San Diego, Television I.
The Associated Press is a not-for-profit news cooperative representing 1,400 newspapers and 5,000 broadcast stations in the United States.
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Here is the list of winners:
2017 First Amendment Award: Lancaster Eagle Gazette; “The Fall of Brian Kuhn”
Television I, Stations licensed in Cleveland, Cincinnati or Columbus:
General Excellence: 1, WBNS-TV, Columbus; 2, WSYX/WTTE-TV, Columbus.
Best Producer: 1, Stephen Kappas, WSYX/WTTE-TV, Columbus; 2, Eileen Osborne, WXIX-TV, Cincinnati.
Best Anchor: 1, Rob Powers, WEWS-TV, Cleveland; 2, Jerod Smalley, WCMH-TV, Columbus.
Best Feature Reporting: 1, Stacia Naquin and Justin DePrekel, WSYX/WTTE-TV, Columbus, “Tiger Strong”; 2, Bryant Somerville and Chris Blake, WBNS-TV, Columbus, “OSU Ushers.”
Best Broadcast Writing: 1, Bryant Somerville, WBNS-TV, Columbus, “A Trip Around the Bases”; 2, Mike McCarthy, WSYX/WTTE-TV, Columbus, “Remembering the Avalon.”
Best Photographer: 1, Marcus Nichols, WBNS-TV, Columbus; 2, Ali Ghanbari, WJW-TV, Cleveland.
Best Reporter: 1, Kevin Landers, WBNS-TV, Columbus; 2, Stefano DiPietrantonio, WXIX-TV, Cincinnati.
Best Sportscast: 1, WBNS-TV, Columbus, “First and 10”; 2, Jerod Smalley and Audrey Hasson, WCMH-TV, Columbus, “Scarlet & Gray OSU Football Coverage 2017.”
Best Sports Feature: 1, Dom Tiberi, WBNS-TV, Columbus, “Out of Bounds”; 2, Adam Slinger and G. Edwin Wilson, WSYX/WTTE-TV, Columbus, “Bowling in the Big Leagues.”
Best Use of Photography: 1, Ali Ghanbari, WJW-TV, Cleveland; 2, WSYX/WTTE-TV, Columbus, “Dangerous Road Debris.”
Best Documentary or Series: 1, Jeff Ackerman and Sarah Zak, WCPO-TV, Cincinnati, “Fiona: The Story so Far”; 2, Brooks Jarosz and Ben Frecker, WSYX/WTTE-TV, Columbus, “Balcony Collapse.”
Best Coverage of a Scheduled Event: 1, WBNS-TV, Columbus, “Election Night 2017”; 2, Bob Kendrick and Matthew Spurrier, WSYX/WTTE-TV, Columbus, “Ohio Governor’s Race.”
Best Spot News Coverage: 1, WBNS-TV, Columbus, “State Fair Accident”; 2, WSYX/WTTE-TV, Columbus, “Ohio State Fair Fireball Tragedy.”
Best Continuing Coverage: 1, WBNS-TV, Columbus, “Fire Ball Tragedy”; 2, Terri Sullivan and Liz Lane, WSYX/WTTE-TV, Columbus, “Coroner Cancer Controversy - How did Debbie Meadows Really Die?”
Best Enterprise Reporting: 1, Brooks Jarosz and Matt Spurrier, WSYX/WTTE-TV, Columbus, “Racist Landlord”; 2, Scott Light and Tim Flaherty, WBNS-TV, Columbus, “Honda Arm.”
Best Investigative Reporting: 1, Rob Sneed and Steve Wainfor, WCMH-TV, Columbus, “Parolee GPS, Police, and the Law”; 2, Brooks Jarosz and Ben Frecker, WSYX/WTTE-TV, Columbus, “Falling Hazards.”
Best Newscast: 1, WCMH-TV, Columbus; 2, WBNS-TV, Columbus.
Best Weathercast: 1, Andrew Michael, WSYX/WTTE-TV, Columbus; 2, Bill Kelly and Jamie Justice, WSYX/WTTE-TV, Columbus.
Best Digital Presence: 1, WCPO-TV, Cincinnati; 2, WCMH-TV, Columbus.
Television II, Stations licensed outside Cleveland, Cincinnati or Columbus:
General Excellence: 1, WHIO-TV, Dayton; 2, WTVG, Toledo.
Best Producer: 1, Dakota Cleland, WTVG, Toledo; 2, Alex King, WHIO-TV, Dayton.
Best Anchor: 1, Kristi Leigh, WTOL-TV, Toledo; 2, Bill Hormann, WTVG, Toledo.
Best Feature Reporting: 1, James Brown and Byron Stirsman, WHIO-TV, Dayton, “Making a Difference: Generous Geno”; 2, Jennifer Brindisi and Michael Petrucci, WFMJ-TV, Youngstown, “Protected by the Team.”
Best Photographer: 1, Byron Stirsman, WHIO-TV, Dayton; 2, Joe Cromer, WTOL-TV, Toledo.
Best Reporter: 1, Michelle Nicks, WFMJ-TV, Youngstown; 2, Derek Steyer, WFMJ-TV, Youngstown.
Best Sportscast: 1, WTVG, Toledo; 2, Dana Balash, WFMJ-TV, Youngstown, “Overtime Report.”
Best Sports Feature: 1, Aaron Farrar, WTAP-TV, Parkersburg, “Local Free Throw Champ”; 2, WTVG, Toledo, “Field of Dreams.”
Best Use of Photography: 1, Robert Meluch, WFMJ-TV, Youngstown; 2, Joe Cromer, WTOL-TV, Toledo, “Iron-worker Sculpture Artist.”
Best Documentary or Series: 1, WTVG, Toledo, “From Heroin to Hope”; 2, Brandon Lewis, WTAP-TV, Parkersburg, “Overdosed and Overwhelmed: The Mid-Ohio Valley Drug Epidemic.”
Best Coverage of a Scheduled Event: 1, Sheila Miller, WFMJ-TV, Youngstown, “Solar Eclipse 2017”; 2, WTVG, Toledo, “North American International Auto Show.”
Best Spot News Coverage: 1, WTAP-TV, Parkersburg, “Ames Plant Fire “; 2, WTVG, Toledo, “Mistrial in Death of Firefighters.”
Best Continuing Coverage: 1, WHIO-TV, Dayton, “Wrong Way Driver”; 2, WTAP-TV, Parkersburg, “Ames Plant Fire.”
Best Enterprise Reporting: 1, Melissa Voetsch and Justin Billau, WTVG, Toledo, “Anatomy of an Overdose”; 2, Caryn Golden and Byron Stirsman, WHIO-TV, Dayton, “Refusal to Prosecute.”
Best Investigative Reporting: 1, Becky Grimes and Byron Stirsman, WHIO-TV, Dayton, “Patient Brokering”; 2, Becky Grimes and Byron Stirsman, WHIO-TV, Dayton, “Home Ownership with a Catch.”
Best Newscast: 1, Quincy Wallace and Kristi Derocher, WHIO-TV, Dayton; 2, WTVG, Toledo.
Best Weathercast: 1, McCall Vrydaghs, WHIO-TV, Dayton; 2, WTVG, Toledo.
Best Digital Presence: 1, WHIO-TV, Dayton; 2, WTAP-TV, Parkersburg.
Radio, All Markets:
General Excellence: 1, WKSU-FM, Kent; 2, WOSU-FM, Columbus.
Best Anchor/News Host: 1, Amanda Rabinowitz, WKSU-FM, Kent; 2, Steve Brown, WOSU-FM, Columbus.
Best Feature Reporting: 1, Adora Namigadde, WOSU-FM, Columbus; 2, Amanda Rabinowitz, WKSU-FM, Kent, “Shuffle.”
Best Broadcast Writing: 1, M.L. Schultze, WKSU-FM, Kent, “An Akron Mother and Her Sons Plan for the Once Unimaginable: Separation and Deportation”; 2, Adora Namigadde, WOSU-FM, Columbus, “Seriously, What’s the Deal with Pee Pee Township?”
Best Reporter: 1, M.L. Schultze, WKSU-FM, Kent; 2, Esther Honig, WOSU-FM, Columbus.
Best Sportscast: 1, Amanda Rabinowitz and Terry Pluto, WKSU-FM, Kent, “Case Western Reserve Students are Excelling at…Football?!”
Best Use of Sound: 1, Kabir Bhatia, WKSU-FM, Kent, “The Dragon Invasion of Turkeyfoot Lake Could Net about $20,000 for Breast Cancer Awareness”; 2, Shane McKeon, WCPN-FM, Cleveland, “Cleveland Teens Land Summer Jobs Writing Poetry.”
Best Documentary or Series: 1, WCPN-FM, Cleveland, “Divided by Design”; 2, WOSU-FM, Columbus, “Chasing the Dream.”
Best Coverage of a Scheduled Event: 1, Tana Weingartner, WVXU-FM, Cincinnati, “Ray Tensing Retrial”; 2, Ashton Marra, WCPN-FM, Cleveland, “DACA is an Education Issue.”
Best Spot News Coverage: 1, Steve Brown and Adora Namigadde, WOSU-FM, Columbus; 2, WHIO-AM/ FM, Dayton, “Dayton Dog Mauling.”
Best Continuing Coverage: 1, WCPN-FM, Cleveland, “Northeast Ohio Provides Relief for Puerto Ricans after Hurricane Maria”; 2, WKSU-FM, Kent, “Opioids: Turning the Tide in the Crisis.”
Best Enterprise Reporting: 1, M.L. Schultze, WKSU-FM, Kent, “Ride Hailing in Rural America: Like Uber with a Neighborly Feel”; 2, Esther Honig, WOSU-FM, Columbus, “Why Some Teen Moms Can’t Get the Pain Relief They Choose in Childbirth.”
Best Investigative Reporting: 1, M.L. Schultze, WKSU-FM, Kent, “Race, Deaths and Past Wars on Drugs: All Shape Ohio’s Response to the Heroin Crisis.”
Best Newscast: 1, WVXU-FM, Cincinnati; 2, Jeff St. Clair, WKSU-FM, Kent.
Best Digital Presence: 1, WHIO-AM/FM, Dayton; 2, WVXU-FM, Cincinnati.
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